Carter Uncut brings New York City’s breaking development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us the third installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter zooms in on Hudson Yards.

The Hudson Yards neighborhood in Far Midtown West is one of the country’s most active construction areas. Construction cranes dot its emerging skyline and dozens more are promised now with the district’s improved connection to the rest of the city. Last fall, the 7-line subway station at Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street opened with one-stop access to Times Square. The newly-minted station features a lengthy diagonal escalator bringing commuters to the front-door of the huge mixed-use project being created over the rail yards west of Tenth Avenue between 30th and 33rd streets. Originally, a second station was contemplated on 41st Street and Tenth Avenue but transit officials claimed it could not afford the $500 million expenditure, despite the enormous amount of new residential construction occurring along the far West 42nd Street corridor.

Nevertheless, the finished Hudson Yards station deposits straphangers into a new diagonal boulevard and park between 10th and 11th Avenues that will ultimately stretch from the Related Companies / Oxford Property Group’s Hudson Yards master plan northward to 42nd Street.

“Before 2004, Manhattan was home to 28 skyscrapers 700 feet and taller. Since then, an additional 13 have been built, 15 are under construction, and 19 are proposed—47 more in all.” Because of this supertall building boom, National Geographic has created an interactive map that lets users explore the NYC skyline in 2020 (h/t Untapped). The light blue buildings are those completed between 2004 and 2015; the orange are under construction; and the yellow proposed.

On a quiet tree-lined block, among the rowhouses of South Slope, you’ll find 459 12th Street. Being a mid-century loft surrounded by turn-of-the-century conversions might already set this building apart from the rest. Yet, unit #3D takes it to the next level, as a previous owner decided to make the most of the high ceilings… and added an entire second floor.

The New York skyline is made up of twelve different decades of buildings, but when you look at them today, they all form a single beautiful picture. Over the last century and a half, that picture has changed dramatically. From the original skyscraper boom to the modern glass towers of today, the New York skyline has grown more and more impressive every year, and these pictures show the process step-by-step, as well as the impending future.

What kind of apartment needs custom blinds from the Shade Store? The kind with floor-to-ceiling windows flooding the unit with light! And we’re not talking any standard floor-to-ceiling windows. Architect Michael Muroff decided to throw us a beautiful curve ball by designing a wall-sized window in the living room accented with a giant, skylight – or more appropriately, an angled ceiling of windows. The result is a living space you could practically sunbathe in.

An abundance of light isn’t the only thing 149 Skillman Avenue #4B has to offer. The 1,070-square-foot, 2BR/2BA unit has a few other surprises, including a steam shower and a private roof deck with a gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline. That means a spectacular show for the apartment’s residents when the 4th of July fireworks return to the East River for summer 2014.